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Isometric exercises target specific muscles for strengthening. This targeted muscle strengthening can help improve certain isotonic contractions and activities. In addition, including isometric exercises into your regular fitness routine offers a variety of benefits.
If you travel for work, or for pleasure, you can do your isometric fitness routine in your hotel room, at the hotel’s gym, or in a park. No special equipment is needed to strengthen targeted muscle groups. If you spend a lot of time on airplanes, creating an isometric exercise plan you can do in your seat or in the aisles can help make long international flights easier on your body.
Unlike aerobic exercise that can stimulate your mind and body and keep you up at night, isometric exercises may help you sleep. In fact, if you have restless legs syndrome, you may have been told to tense and relax your legs after you’ve gone to bed to help relieve RLS symptoms. Some insomnia experts recommend starting at your toes and tensing and releasing every muscle all the way to your head as a way to relax your body and mind.
As mentioned above, the majority of isometric exercises do not require equipment. As you move forward in creating your isometric fitness plan, you may want to add a medicine ball, a yoga mat, or a resistance band, but these items are not cost-prohibitive, and frankly not required to complete the majority of isometric exercises.
If you’ve recently injured a joint and you have limited range of motion, isometric contractions may be ideal. Remember, in isometric exercises, the joints on either side of the muscles don’t move; you are just tensing and releasing the muscles without motion. This may help you retain muscle conditioning and strength, and prevent muscle wasting.
If you are like millions of others, when the afternoon rolls around, your energy level dips. Even when you are at work, you can do a few isometric exercises to improve circulation and clear your mind. Wall presses and wall squats can be done in your office or a break room, but isometric exercises can even be done at your desk. A prayer palm press may help loosen tight shoulder muscles, and leg extensions under your desk may help relieve lower back pain.
According to the Mayo Clinic, clinical studies have shown that isometric exercises may help lower blood pressure levels. In a study published in the journal Sports Medicine, researchers found that isometric exercise training produces similar or better results than aerobic exercise to reduce blood pressure. The authors of the study recommend further research into the cardiovascular benefits of isometric exercise and the optimal number of times per week it should be conducted.
Being physically active releases endorphins into the system that can trigger a sense of well-being and euphoria. Exercise, regardless of type, can help stave off depression, fight anxiety, boost self-esteem, and improve the quality and the quantity of sleep. As a bonus, the more endorphins you release through exercise, the more you will want to exercise. And, exercise can make you happier—and we can all use an extra dose of happiness from time to time.
AGING = MUSCLE LOSS = DISEASE ARE YOU AT RISK: LEARN MORE
